Wednesday, November 21, 2012

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been
filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these
bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the
source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so
extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the
heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of
Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity,
which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their
aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been
maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed
everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has
been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful
industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or
the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines,
as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more
abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding
the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and
the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is
permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No
human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great
things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing
with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has
seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and
gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American
People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United
States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign
lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of
Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.
And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascription's justly due to
Him for such singular deliverance's and blessings, they do also, with humble
penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender
care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the
lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently
implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation
and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the
full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand
and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of
Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the
Eighty-eighth.

I recently had the great
privilege of enjoying Daniel Day-Lewis in his role as “LINCOLN”. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who
considers themselves a proud American.
This Thanksgiving I am grateful for all of America’s Presidents, past
and present, and for all the patriotic Americans who have dedicated themselves
to the cause of freedom and to the preservation of our incomparable nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. SC

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Outside the storm continued. The sleet came down fitfully against the
window, and periodically a gust of wind would find its way down the stovepipe
and the old cast iron heater would belch smoke from around its damper and its red-hot
lid. After a while the rough plank roof
began dripping and leaking like a sieve, and one by one a strategically placed
company of pots and kettles joined in a chorus of plops, plinks, and piddles,
as they filled quickly with their captured leakage and began to splash
rhythmically on the rip sawn floor. As twilight approached, I sat by the
potbellied stove staring out the window into the empty street, and listening to
the moan of the howling wind as it tore at the shingles and rattled the chimney
cap. I could hear the hiss of sleet as
it began to fill the ruts and hoof prints in the muddy street, and icicles
began to form and hung in profusion from the eaves. Clearing a spot on the
frosted window I squinted and peered outside.
The storm was relenting and I began to see some stars. I warmed a blanket for myself, kicked back in
my chair and leaned against the wall. I
remember watching the firelight from the damper, dancing on the wall behind the
stove, and then the cobwebs came and the darkness took me in. “OBIE’S QUEST” SC

Yes,
the stock market is likely to be volatile for awhile. A few billionaires
invested big bucks intending to buy the election. It didn't pay off and they're not
pleased. Old glory is beleaguered and
bruised, but she's still not for sale.

Much
of the world is celebrating the President's reelection.Given time, the stock market will reflect
that optimism. SC

And now brothers and sisters, the torch is once
more passed. It’s time to turn from resentment
and unite in liberty’s cause. Many have given their lives in order to secure
the freedoms we enjoy today. Honor their
sacrifice. Honor our veterans and all
those who choose a life of service. Honor individuality, revere tolerance, and
exhort all those who lift up the cause of freedom. Freedom is every heart’s
desire and every just government’s goal. Let us shower down freedom across a
thirsty land. Our country’s greatest strength is diversity, honor diversity and
keep America strong. Let us praise the God that offers grace, and the shining
nation that lights the way to peace. May we be too wise to brazenly threaten
others, and sufficiently strong that none dare threatens us, leaving
condemnation to a merciful God, and dedicating ourselves to pursuit of His matchless
mercy, doing justly, loving mercy, walking humbly with our God, in America’s
quest for liberty and justice for all.
SC

Monday, November 5, 2012

It’s true that at the
conclusion of any contest, there are winners and losers. It’s equally true that when a hard fought
political process comes to a peaceful conclusion, everybody wins. Peaceful coexistence is an old term and
carries some baggage, but the concept is worthy of consideration. We in this country have some very real differences;
we also have much in common and much at stake. We have much to gain by learning
to come to grips with our differences and working together peacefully.
Regardless of the outcome of this hard-fought campaign, I pledge to do so. And I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United
States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. SC

Saturday, November 3, 2012

24 And
God said, “Let the land produce living creaturesaccording to their kinds:the livestock, the
creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to
its kind.” And it was so.25 God made the wild animalsaccording to their kinds,
the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the
ground according to their kinds.And God saw that it was
good.

26 Then
God said, “Let usmake mankindin our image,in our likeness,so that they may ruleover the fish in the sea
and the birds in the sky,over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a]and over all the creatures
that move along the ground.”

27 So God createdmankindin his own image,in the image of Godhe created them;male and femalehe created them. Genesis 1

8 Now theLordGod had planted a garden
in the east, in Eden;and there he put the man he had formed.9 TheLordGod made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—treesthat were pleasing to the
eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of lifeand the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.

15 TheLordGod took the man and put him in the Garden of Edento work it and take care
of it.Genesis 2

Friday, November 2, 2012

A wet weather stream meanders through the
middle, and here and there Spruce trees pierce the dense canopy of briars,
competing for the sunshine and littering the ravine floor with a luxurious
carpet of dry needles. Several of the
evergreens sport tree-forts assembled from lumber the children have salvaged
from the wreckage of an abandoned barn.
A network of paths and tunnels connect the forts with each other and the
outer banks. The balmy fall afternoon was almost summer-like, and between the
sounds of children at play, frogs sang from the creek bank and a pair of mourning
doves cooed a melancholy refrain in the distance. A well-traveled trail formed several
switchbacks during its’ decent down the steep bank and ended abruptly at a
small clearing just inside the thicket. From this point on, the four of us
would have to crawl on our hands and knees.
Earlier in the season, our efforts might have been rewarded with a
bounty of juicy blackberries. The berries
were long gone, but the sharp thorns remained, camouflaged by the thick purple
foliage of an extended Indian summer.
Despite our best efforts, the thorns snatched at our clothes, and
periodically resulted in a “youch!” and a grimace, as a determined thorn found
it’s mark and pierced somebody’s hide. OBIE’S
QUEST, SC

1“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and
with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Mathew 7

13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and
broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.14But small is the gate and narrow the road that
leads to life, and only a few find it.” Mathew
7

24The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again,“Children, how hard it iseto enter the
kingdom of God!25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Mark 10

21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did
we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform
many miracles?’23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.
Away from me, you evildoers!” Mathew 7

8He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the
LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with
your God. Micah 6:8